"I’ve never heard of it." — Chris Sabo (January 17, 2014)

NLDS Game 3: Sing for Absolution

I rushed home from work and went straight to the TV to watch the last three innings of the game. In my haste to sit down/eat dinner, I forgot to put on my Reds hat. The same Reds hat that was undefeated at three Reds games I saw at Wrigley Field and one at Great American Ball Park this season. The same hat that I wore during the entirety of Games 1 and 2 of the NLDS. That hat–I forgot to wear it.

I promise, it won’t happen again.

Homer Bailey deserved better tonight. Whether it was the overzealous base-running (Phillips), the defensive miscues (Rolen), the lack of timely hitting with runners on base (Ludwick, Hanigan, Stubbs)–there are a lot of places to point the finger, but Phillips’ getting gunned down in the 1st inning was very costly.

Todd Frazier wasn’t exactly hitting the cover off of the ball in September, but I think he’s earned the right to get a start at 3B tomorrow. My guess is that it’s going to happen with the relatively short turnaround time between tonight’s game and tomorrow’s. I also wouldn’t mind seeing Drew Stubbs on the bench tomorrow. Although, it’s not like the Reds have a ton of options in the outfield, so I don’t have any suggestions other than the one that apparently only I agree with:

LEFT FIELD: Heisey or Ludwick

CENTER FIELD:Bruce

RIGHT FIELD: Frazier

Now we’re faced with the scenario of Mike Leake going up against Barry Zito in Game 4, and suddenly that 2-1 series lead doesn’t seem all that big, does it? If you don’t think this series could implode in a heartbeat, you haven’t seen Mike Leake pitch recently.